25th Anniversary of Limerick Civic Trust
On the 17th of February 2008 Limerick Civic Trust celebrated the 25th anniversary of our formal public inauguration meeting which was held at the Mary Immaculate College on 17th February 1983.
To commemorate and celebrate this landmark occasion our Director, Denis Leonard has documented a history of our organisation and project work in a book titled" Limerick Civic Trust – The First Twenty Five Years" . This personal account is in a hardback book in full colour throughout. There are over three hundred illustrations and between the story of the Trust in section one and the appendices in section two a formative record about Limerick Civic Trust unfolds in a very easy to read manner.
On Saturday 16th February 2008 the Minister for Defence Mr. Willie O' Dea T.D formally launched our book at City Hall, Merchants Quay, Limerick .
“ Limerick Civic Trust – The First Twenty Five Years” has been made possible through the patronage of Shannon Development Company to whom we express our sincerest appreciation.
"Limerick Civic Trust-The First Twenty Five Years" is for sale at O'Mahony's Bookstore, O'Connell St, Limerick, Bishops' Palace (Limerick Civic Trust headquaters) and the Georgian House & Gardens, No.2 Pery Square at a cost of €25.
The Hannah Parr Emigrant Ship Commemoration
On 22 nd November 2008 The Ambassador of Norway to Ireland unveiled a plaque and memorial plot in St. Munchin's C. of I. Churchyard noting the disastrous fortunes of a Norwegian emigrant ship with 378 passengers which was repaired in Limerick in 1868. Three children from the ship died and are buried in St. Munchin's. The plaque also records the great charitable deeds of Mrs. Ann Kearse and many Limerick people who cared for the passengers and crew while they were in Limerick for six weeks.
Secondary Schools Competition
During September and October Mary Shee organised a visit to each of the secondary schools in the city and environs to promote our writers competition. During the course of the visits the competition was extended to include entries in art-work format. The theme for both entries had to be a Limerick topic. Nine schools and circa 800 students were given an illustrated talk about Limerick and about the Trust. The closing date for entries to this highly successful project is 28 th November 2008.
Schools Art Competition
A keynote initiative in the Limerick Civic Trust programme for 2008 was to revive our Primary Schools Art Project.
It is over ten years ago since we held the last Art Project. The last one had 1,466 entries from 33 schools. We presented 142 prizes. After careful consideration we decided to promote our 2008 School's Art Project along similar lines as before.
The object of our Art Project is to encourage a better appreciation of Limerick amongst the schools and young children. The Art Project is therefore designed to provide fun and enjoyment as well as general knowledge.
In order to encourage an interest and participation we are providing, through our sponsors, many prizes of modest value rather than giving out a few overall prizes. Each winner will be presented with their prize and certificate by the Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Ger Fahy at the City Hall, June 16 th 2008.
Limerick Civic Trust wish's to convey our gratitude for all the school's who entered in our Children's Art Competition. Overall it was a great success and we received over 500 entries. We were also very pleased to get many complimentary comments from the teachers judging from which it appears that our principal aim, to hold an art competition which would be educational and fun, was achieved.
Limerick Civic Trust wishes to acknowledge the very kind sponsorship of O'Mahony's Booksellers and World of Colour for this Schools Art Project.
The People's Park New Entrance
The People's Park new entrance was formally opened on the 17th February 2008 by Edmund 7th Earl of Limerick and his mother Sylvia Countess of Limerick. It is also very appropriate that this new gate will be known as the Pery Gate. The Pery Family have been associated with Limerick since the 17 th Century and possibly Edmund Sexton Pery (also known as Speaker Pery because he was the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons for eighteen years) is the most famous member of the family. The Earls of Limerick are descendents of the Speaker's brother Bishop William Cecil Pery.
The People's Park new entrance enriches not only the Park but also the Streetscape. It's a very striking vista from Colbert Station which will greatly impress visitors to our City. Seamus Carr's stroke of genius to curve the entrance into the Park works very well and it also provides added space for a public Monument. The four pillars are replicated from the lower sections of the main entrance at Pery Square .
Limerick Civic Trust's 25 month calendar.January 2008 – January 2010
For the perfect present why not give a gift of Limerick Civic Trust's limited edition 25 th anniversary calendar. Each page features interesting facts and images from the Trust's extensive history. Calendars are available directly from The Bishops Palace, The Georgian House or by calling 061 313399. Calendars are selling fast so place your order today!
Catherine Hayes Events
On February 9 th 2007 Limerick Civic Trust held an event in the House of Lords, London to celebrate the completion of the restoration of the burial place and memorial of Catherine Hayes in Kensal Green Cemetery , London . The renowned opera buff Lord Trimble was guest speaker at this event. The overall cost of the restoration of the grave is in the region of €25,000. Donations are invited to defray the cost of this work.
On February 10th a ceremony was held in Kensal Green to mark the completion of the work during which a plaque was unveiled noting Limerick Civic Trust's involvement in the restoration.
The restoration of Catherines' burial place is the start of the Catherine Hayes projects and will be followed by:
• The restoration of her childhood home at No.4 Patrick Street Limerick.
• The provision of a display of a collection of material associated with her.
• The establishment of a bursary to assist students of music to further their studies or careers.
The Catherine Hayes website can be viewed from the link at the bottom of our home page.
The Limerick We Don't See no.3 On Sale Now
The Limerick We Don't See no.3 is a photographic challenge to find one hundred architectural features in the Irishtown (Johnsgate Area). For this competition we are giving €2000 in prizes. Our past two volumes have enjoyed tremendous success and this time round we expect even greater interest. To be in with a chance just purchase a copy from Limerick Civic Trust at the Bishops' Palace, The Georgian House & Garden or the various local bookstores and start looking at the Limerick you have or haven't seen. Goodluck!
Made in Limerick Vol. II On Sale Now
This second volume in the series published by Limerick Civic Trust investigates further the history of industries, trades and commerce of Limerick. Made in Limerick fills a void in local history studies as previosly no systematic study has been undertaken exploring the subject. The series provides a valuable service as a platform for specialist articles and essays on the city's business and commercial development that would not normally see the light of day in traditional local history publications. Made in Limerick Vol. II encompasses a wide variety of topics ranging from the foundation of the city by the vikings in the early tenth century to the present day economic development of Limerick City. Made in Limerick Vol. II is edited by David Lee & Debbie Jacobs and retails at:€30 softback / €75 hardback.
Limerick Attractions Guide – Re. printed
This guide to the various visitor attractions in Limerick City is the only specialist guide of it’s kind for the city. It gives all the relevant information for each of the venues. The guide won a World Award in 2004 and is one of the most useful guides for this region. An up-dated version of the guide has been prepared and 50,000 copies printed.
New Logo for Limerick Civic Trust
Dr. Thomas Ryan RHA has very kindly designed a new logo for the Trust. The logo depicts the activity areas of the Trust through the Castle (Heritage) and the planter box (Environment). The design of our new logo has a second purpose for a new project which is due to be announced.
Greyhound Meeting
Limerick Civic Trust recently held its 15 th Greyhound Benefit Meeting at the Greyhound Racing Stadium in Limerick . It was highly successful with a large attendance who enjoyed a most exciting night of greyhound racing.The eight race is the feature event with the highest prize money and to add to the tension for this race a Buster draw was promoted. It's a novel idea which is now a regular part of benefit meetings. Between the six greyhounds there are 720 different finishing orders (120 per dog) so the holder of the ticket with the finishing order of the six dogs in the feature race wins €1,000. This year Mr. Kieran Finucane of Finucane's Electrical, Ballysimon was the Buster winner. Kieran is a regular supporter of Limerick Civic Trust and his luck came good this year.
Golf Classic
During 2008 Limerick Civic Trust is celebrating the 25 th anniversary of its establishment on 17 th February 1983. One of the feature events in our calendar of 25 activities was our 20th golf classic. So just like Limerick Civic Trust our golf classic has stood the test of time.
This year certainly was a test in view of the difficult financial times which prevail. It is therefore most gratifying to be able to say that we nearly held our entry numbers of previous years with 41 teams participating.
The format of teams of four playing better-ball, four-ball was the same as previous years. As usual there were a few teams which excelled and most of the prize winners came from the following pack. The spread of the winning scores ranged from 88pts for 1st , 84pts for 2nd , 3rd had 83pts & 77pts won 10th prize.
Limerick Civic Trust has set itself a very challenging target of undertaking twenty-five projects this year. We are well on our way to achieving this goal with projects like the new entrance into the People's Park, the 25 year history of Limerick Civic Trust book, a schools art competition, the abbey wall, art in the street booklet & walking maps, all completed to-date and many more are at work in progress stages.
“Fundraising events like our annual golf classic enable Limerick Civic Trust plan and execute a very ambitious programme of activities. These fundraising events give the general public an opportunity to subscribe to the betterment of Limerick by supporting the work of the Trust. Limerick Civic Trust is therefore the beneficiary of very badly needed funds from its various activities so Limerick 's image is the ultimate winner” said Martin Bourke, Chairman, Limerick Civic Trust speaking prior to the presentation of their prizes.
The James McMahon Team were the outright winners with a score of 88pts their team comprised of Adrian Murphy (8) Charlie O'Neill (19) Paul Ahern (8) and Mark Ahern (13). The runners up were the Seamus Carrs team on 84 points who had a better back nine score than the Grant Thornton team who also had 83 points.
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